The National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration consistently provide lifesaving forecasting services across Puerto Rico and the USVI. Both agencies’ commitment to safety and public service help to keep residents and visitors safe and informed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Recent federal layoffs in the United States have brought the NWS and NOAA into global news headlines. Indeed, according to an article from NBC News released on Tuesday, March 4, approximately five percent of the workforce at NWS and NOAA, totaling over 600 positions, were eliminated last week due to the federal cuts. (The NBC report also noted that NOAA has not commented on the layoffs, but that the agency remains dedicated to fulfilling its responsibilities.)
Meanwhile, the public servants who continue to be employed at the NWS and NOAA have remained committed to providing timely and critical information to help keep people informed about the weather. Locations that are extremely vulnerable to climate impacts, including the USVI and Puerto Rico, depend on the NWS and NOAA forecasts to be prepared and stay safe from weather and climate disasters.
The Vital Work Conducted at the NWS in San Juan, Puerto Rico
The NWS in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is an example of an office that plays a critical role in weather forecasting and helps to protect the public by providing vital weather and atmospheric data. The Source recently spoke with Ernesto Morales, a warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS in San Juan, about the importance of the daily weather forecasts that the agency distributes across Puerto Rico and the USVI.
“For the NWS office in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the area of [forecast] responsibility is Puerto Rico and all of the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Morales said. “Our mission is to protect life and property through our [weather] forecasts,” Morales explained. “If [individuals] have [access to] a good [and accurate] forecast, people can make the right decisions [to stay safe],” he continued.
A previous Source article referred to meteorologists at the NWS in San Juan as “National Weather ‘Servers’” because of the experts’ unwavering devotion to public service. The NWS is always open, and meteorologists work throughout the day and night to monitor weather conditions for the public. Forecasters at the NWS in Puerto Rico operate in shifts (depending on storm activity) every 24 hours, 365 days a year, and there is always someone at the office monitoring weather conditions.
Hurricane season lasts six months, beginning each June 1 and ending November 30. However, for the NWS, hurricane season is a year-round affair. It involves preparation and research when the tropics are quiet and critical decision-making when they are active.
“Our [hurricane] season starts on January 1 and ends on December 31,” Morales said. “[We are constantly preparing for inclement weather,] working with the local governments, [collaborating with private and public entities [to ensure that organizations] have a [complete] understanding of the job that we do for [residents and visitors in the community],” Morales continued.
“People [often think more about the NWS] during hurricane season, but in reality, we are there [for the public] for any type of [weather or climate] hazard that can occur all year round,” he added.
Morales stressed that a goal of the NWS is to earn the public’s trust to help individuals be prepared for severe weather.
“If you have earned the trust of the people [across both U.S. territories, individuals] will depend on us, day by day, to make the correct decisions [for themselves and their families],” Morales noted.
NWS Meteorologists’ Passion
Although people can access weather forecasts from various platforms, Morales told the Source that what sets the NWS apart is its meteorologists’ deep passion and expertise.
“[What sets the NWS apart from other sources of obtaining weather] is our service and our passion about what we do,” Morales declared. “We understand the importance of the information that we give to the public, [and] we try to aim for hospitality, to [help individuals] to feel comfortable, and to ensure that the [forecast] information that we give is the best one [available],” Morales continued.
Morales also said that, in addition to compiling and sharing accurate atmospheric and weather predictions, the NWS’s responsibility is to provide details and communicate any weather-related impacts that can occur across the islands.
“[Our work at the NWS] is not only to [create] a forecast, but also to share the impacts of a weather feature [such as a hurricane or strong storm] with the citizens and visitors [across] the islands,” Morales stated.
“Our NWS office is [comprised of] a group of highly trained experts, and we are very passionate about what we do, [and] the best way to define what we do is by understanding our mission, which is to protect life and property,” Morales concluded.
NOAA’s Advancements in Forecasting
In addition to the NWS, individuals at NOAA are deeply dedicated to public service, and the agency has made significant advancements over the years.
The Source contacted Sim Aberson, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory’s Hurricane Research Division, for a comment on the innovations made in the agency throughout his career with the agency. Aberson is a “Hurricane Hunter,” one of the researchers who diligently study and examine tropical systems and their behavior.
Aberson recalled that when he began his career with NOAA in 1981, hurricane forecasts were much less reliable than they are today. He stressed that the agency’s ability to provide accurate forecasts has grown exponentially.
“[In 1981,] by the time hurricane warnings were put up, the [forecast] errors were large, [and] we were still guessing where [a storm’s] landfall might be,” he recalled. “[Today,] we have a good idea where [storms are expected to move] five days in advance, [as well as] good guidance on intensities, size, and rainfall, and much more knowledge of how everything works to [share the anticipated impacts] with the areas [that may be affected by a weather system],” he said.
“I could not have imagined in 1981 that we would [reach this stage of progress],” Aberson admitted. “The advancements that [allowed us to reach this point] have been [primarily advancements] in data collection from aircraft and satellites, major improvements to [forecast] models [because of] both huge increases in computing power, and greater knowledge due to the observations [scientists] collect and assimilating the data we collect into the [forecast] models,” Aberson stated.
Regarding the future of NOAA, Aberson said he is most excited about the agency developing even greater computing power, along with assistance from artificial intelligence, and he hopes that there will be opportunities for even better weather observations, primarily from satellites.
Looking Ahead and Keeping Up With the Weather
While the exact future of NOAA and the NWS seems uncertain due to the current federal layoffs, one fact is certain: the individuals at both agencies across the USA are devoted, passionate, and highly skilled at their work. The USVI and Puerto Rico are safer places because of them.
In addition to obtaining weather information from the NWS and NOAA, the local weather forecast for the U.S. Virgin Islands is regularly updated on the Source Weather Page and VI Source YouTube Channel. Individuals can also find helpful weather information and alerts from the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency.
